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There is a certain genre of single-player games that AAA studios haven't made in a long time; and i miss it so much

RickSanchez

Gold Member
I'm talking about games that are/have:
  • single-player
  • mostly first-person
  • progress in linear chapters/levels
  • there is only one main quest-line to follow, side-quests are either very sparse (and add to the narrative) or not present at all
  • no metroidvania backtracking, no open world, not much in way of exploration
  • anywhere between 8-20 chapters/levels and total playtime of about 20 hours
  • story is unravelled bit by bit, mostly through in-game environment rather than cutscenes, environmental storytelling was a strong point of such games
  • There are little or no RPG elements like skill-trees or gear upgrades.
I'm hesitant to simply call such games as "immersive sims" because that definition feels vague.

The best examples are the Half Life & Portal series, the Dead Space series, Bioshock, the Deus Ex games, the Metro series, the older Splinter Cells, and the old Arkane Studios games (Prey, Dishonoured). I would even include action titles like the new Doom and Wolfenstein games into this. There were some banger indies like this too.....Soma, The Stanley Parable, Tacoma, Remember Me, What Remains of Edith Finch (not exactly linear) etc. The most recent example of such a game that i can think of is.......... Sniper Elite 5....i think ?

I know indies are still trying to keep this genre alive. Stray (the cat game) comes to mind. A Plague Tale was great, but it does not exactly do the kind of environmental storytelling im talking about. Scorn seems to be in a similar vein but i am yet to get to that one.

My point is there are fewer and fewer games like this being made today and i find myself simply going back and playing these old favourites (which is fine), but i would like something new every so often. Is there any recent games that has all the attributes i described above that i might have missed ? Suggestions welcome. It feels like every new game coming out is either a generic AAA open world RPG or an indie Metroidvania or Roguelike. Where are my new Half-Lives and new BioShocks, gaming industry ?! come on!
 
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AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
Half Life, Portal, Dead Space, Bioshock, Deus Ex, Splinter Cells, Prey, Dishonoured, Doom, Wolfenstein, Soma, The Stanley Parable, Tacoma, Remember Me, Sniper Elite 5

This isn't a genre, you're just listing good games you like. There's like 5/6 genres in there.

They never stopped making them, Deathloop and RE8 both came out last year and fit your billing perfectly, you should check them out. It's just been an indie-heavy year is all. 2023 will be nutso for you.
 

RickSanchez

Gold Member
This isn't a genre, you're just listing good games you like. There's like 5/6 genres in there.

They never stopped making them, Deathloop and RE8 both came out last year and fit your billing perfectly, you should check them out. It's just been an indie-heavy year is all. 2023 will be nutso for you.

I know they dont all fit into a singe pre-defined genre......but most have the attributes that i listed. Maybe i'm seeing similarities in them because i like them.

I have had Deathloop in my library for while, just haven't gotten to it yet, will check it out. RE8, is perhaps too scary for me 🙃
 

cireza

Member
Still waiting for my AAA BTA an SHMUP, as far as I am concerned. Last AAA shmup was Panzer Dragoon Orta, this has been like 20 years... BTA we got Bayonetta or Ninja Gaiden, so that's nice. But what about something AAA like Streets of Rage or Dynamite Deka ?
 
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RickSanchez

Gold Member
Ummm no exploration or backtracking in immersive sim games like deus ex, prey and bioshock? You might have played them wrong.

I dont remember Bioshock having any backtracking.

Deus Ex and Prey game worlds are more an exception rather than a rule in the set of games i described. They are some of my most beloved games in this list by the way.
 
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RickSanchez

Gold Member
Ri

And they don’t have rpg elements….
This isn't a genre, you're just listing good games you like. There's like 5/6 genres in there.

They never stopped making them, Deathloop and RE8 both came out last year and fit your billing perfectly, you should check them out. It's just been an indie-heavy year is all. 2023 will be nutso for you.
Ummm no exploration or backtracking in immersive sim games like deus ex, prey and bioshock? You might have played them wrong.

I now realise, people on the internet would rather correct small details and nitpick at your post, rather than trying to gather your point and suggest good games. This is my own mistake for being too naive.
 

Guilty_AI

Member
i'm not sure what you're trying to describe here. Closed level games without cutscenes or heavy rpg mechanics? We still get games like that







 
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Drizzlehell

Banned
So basically linear shooters that were a staple of the 360/PS3 era of gaming.

I'm with you on that. I wish there were more high-profile games like these. Hell, even mid-shelf titles from that era were fun for the most part. Replaying the Gears of War series recently reminded me how much I miss those straightforward action games that are all but gone from the triple-A market these days. Everything has to have hours upon hours of nebulous, meaningless "content" or else every little bitch under the sun is gonna cry about the short length of the campaign.

Just look at Callisto Protocol. One of the big complaints about that game that I often see is that it doesn't have anything other than the story campaign. So fucking what? That's a good thing. Not every game has to come with token multiplayer or extra gameplay modes, it didn't used to be a problem.
 
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Alexios

Banned
I dont remember Bioshock having any backtracking.

Deus Ex and Prey game worlds are more an exception rather than a rule in the set of games i described. They are some of my most beloved games in this list by the way.
There was some and also a ton of exploration for each area before you moved on.

So, your most beloved don't even fit your core descriptions so you call them exceptions, lol?

Well thought out thread. Yeah that's nitpicking. Just write better. You can edit your post to say you like single player games that aren't open world RPG or sandbox or whatever rather than somehow be confused people other than you don't think Half-Life is the same genre as Splinter Cell or Deus Ex.

Anyway, games you like are still being made, there's another Bioshock-like by Levine coming, you listed the latest of a still alive series like Sniper Elite yourself, there's a remake of Dead Space and Callisto Protocol, Half-Life Alyx, Doom is also still alive itself, there's A Plague Tale and its sequel,.etc., not everything is a Ubisoft game or an open world RPG or sandbox. Resident Evil has backtracking but probably fits your likes anyway, like other games you listed yourself.

And indies mentioned above like Gloomwood don't lack anything vs AAA, if not one up them, so you shouldn't dismiss them over it.
 
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